Dear John: Since the deductions for TransitChek and other flex-spending plans are made above the tax line, part of the balance sheet includes a reduction in salary for Social Security purposes. In other words, using TransitChek today may lead to a reduction in Social Security payments (and for some people, pension benefits.) True? D.B.

Dear D.B.: To tell you the truth, I never really thought about the long-term effects of flex-spending accounts that permit you to contribute pre-tax money for certain expenses such as healthcare payments, transit costs and even parking.

I asked the New York State Society of CPAs if your analysis is correct and they said that it was, to a point. But they also said you shouldn’t worry.

“If your Social Security benefits and your pension are based on your ‘gross’ pay, and you elect to receive a less amount of pay, obviously that election could result in lower pension and Social Security benefits,” said Alan J. Straus, an expert on individual taxation and relations with IRS committees.

“However, Social Security benefits are based on an extremely complex calculation that takes into account earnings over many years and uses averages. In many instances, benefits are based on your spouse’s earnings, not yours.”

And you won’t be hurt by these flexible-spending plans if you earn more than $90,000, the amount where you would contribute the FICA maximum.

So, for Social Security purposes, the damage you do to your retirement benefits will depend – I guess – on whether you regularly get up to the maximum income and the number of years in which you flex spend. Since most of these plans are only a few years old, this will likely be more of an issue for future generations.

Of course, there’s no way of knowing what changes are going to be made to Social Security.

So, let’s say a 20-year-old today decides to skip all pre-tax flex-spending plans in order to make his gross income higher. He could lose 50 years of savings – assuming the retirement age is raised – only to find out that the calculations on which his retirement benefits are based have been changed.

Me? I have other things to worry about.

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